Draft-rigging.



J. M. DUTELLE.

' DRAFT RIGGING.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 26, 1909.

Patented July 26, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT UFFTCE.

JOSEPH M. DUTELLE, OF WEST RUTLAND, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO BERNARD LEMZIEUX, OF WEST RUTLAND, VERMONT.

DRAFT-RIGGING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 26, 1908.

Patented July 26, 1910. Serial No. 492,161.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, J OSEPH M. DUTELLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vest Rutland, in the county of Rutland and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Draft-Riggings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in draft riggings for railroad cars, the object being to provide a draft rigging which is so constructed that it can be easily and quickly attached to the car from the under side without entering the same thereby overcoming the difficulties now existing in repairing draft riggings on loaded freight cars, as it is necessary to remove the freight therefrom to reach the bolts securing the rigging in position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a metal casing which is bolted between the central sills of the car by bolts extending transversely through the sills and easing, said casing forming a housing in. which is mounted the draw bar strap.'

A further object of my invention is to provide novel means for locking the central block of the draw bar strap in position, said means comprising a shaft extending transversely through the same and through the sides of the casing, said shaft forming means for securing the ends of the truss rods.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a draft rigging which is exceedingly simple and cheap in construction, and one which can be easily and quickly detached from the car, said draft rigging being secured between the central sills of the car in such a manner that it is thoroughly protected from the weather so that all danger of the bufier springs becoming frozen is prevented.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a draw bar having a strap secured on its inner end in which is arranged a central block carrying oppositely disposed pins over which fit the ends of coil springs carried by the strap whereby the draw bar will yield in either direction so as to prevent the same from becoming broken by a sudden jerk.

Still another object of the invention is to provide very novel means for securing the truss rods to the shaft for holding the central block on the draw bar strap, said draw bars being provided with eyes which are adapted to fit over the ends of the shaft and be se cured thereon by cotter pins passing transversely through openings formed in the ends of the shaft.

With these various objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts, all of which will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification: Figure l is an inverted plan view of a portion of the bottom of a car showing my improved draft rigging in position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the same, and Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 8-3 of Fig. 2.

In the drawing A indicates the bottom of the car, B the end sill, C the two central sills, and D a cross beam, the above description being given so that the operation of my improved draft rigging will be readily understood.

Arranged between the central sills G is an inverted U-shaped casing E which is secured between the same by bolts E passing transversely through the sills and casing, said bolt being preferably placed in position from the inside. The block G is arranged within the casing at one end and rests against the bottom D and is secured in position by a bolt or any other suitable means. The casing is provided with apertured ear portions E which are secured on the bottom of the sills C by lag screws H and it will be seen that by this arrangement the casing can be easily and quickly detached from the car by simply removing the bolts E and block G.

Secured on the end sill B of the car is a guide member I in which is mounted the draw bar K which is provided with a coupler K at its outer end and a draw bar strap L at its inner end which is secured over the head K of the draw bar and is provided with a block M having a pin M over which is arranged one end of a coil buffer spring N, the other end of which bears against a central block 0 arranged within the strap, said central block being provided with oppositely disposed pins 0, 0 the pins 0 fitting within the buffer spring N and the pin 0 fitting within a buffer spring P, the otherend of which fits over a pin K formed on the head K of the draw bar K, said pins holding the buffer springs in position and allowing the draw bar to yield in either direction.

Plates Q are secured over the sides of the draw bar strap L provided with slots through which extends a shaft R which is mounted in bearings S secured on the sills C, said shaft extending through the block 0 so as to hold the same in a fixed position so that the springs will work against the same when the draw bar is drawn forwardly or pushed backwardly. It will be seen that by forming the strap in this manner the buffer springs are completely inclosed by the plates Q and by forming the plates with the slots through which the rod R passes, the same will be allowed to have free movement.

Arranged on the ends of the shaft R are eyes T, U of truss rods T and U, the truss rods T extending through the end sills B and through the guide member I and having their ends secured by nuts as clearly shown. The truss rods U extend through the cross beams I) and are secured in a similar manner at the opposite end of the car. The eyes of the truss rods are secured on the shaft by cotter pins V which extend transversely through openings formed in the ends of the shaft whereby the truss rods can be easily and quickly detached or attached so that a new one can be replaced if one of the same becomes accidentally broken or injured in any way.

It will be seen that by this construction when the draft rigging gets out of order in any way it is only necessary to loosen the truss rods and remove the guide I and the shaft R and the rigging can then be detached by forcing the truss rods off of the end of the shaft and by removing the bearings or the shaft the rigging can then be drawn out of the casing and if it is desired to re move the casing it is only necessary to remove the bolts E and the block G and the casing can be removed, this being accomplished from the under side of the car without entering the same, thereby saving a great deal of time and expense of having to enter the car and remove the freight therefrom which often causes long delays, and at the same time the freight is injured to a certain extent by careless handling.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a draft rigging which can be quickly connected to the car or verse bolts, of a draw bar strap detached therefrom, said draft rigging being carried by a casing which is secured between the central sills of the car by transverse bolts. It will also be seen that I have provided a novel form of buffer for the draw bar which is so constructed that the shaft for holding the central block of the draw strap in position forms means for securing the ends of the truss rods in such a manner that they can be quickly detached in order to allow the draw strap to be removed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A draft rigging comprising a casing adapted to be secured between the central sills of a car by transverse bolts, a draw bar mounted in a guide member carried by the end sill. of the car, said draw bar being provided with a draw bar strap arranged within the casing, plates for closing the sides of said draw bar strap, a spring actuated block arranged within the draw bar strap, and a rod extending transversely through said casing and said block.

2. In a draft rigging, the combination with the central sills of a car, of a casing secured between said sills by transverse bolts, a draw bar strap arranged within the casing, a block slidably mounted within said draw bar strap, springs arranged within said draw bar strap to each side of said block, plates for closing the sides of said draw bar strap provided with slots, a rod extending through said slots and block, said rod extending through the sides of the casing and being mounted within bearings secured to the sills and eyes formed on the ends of the respective truss rods secured on the ends of said shaft by cotter pins.

3. In a draft rigging, the combination with acasing adapted to be secured between the central sills of a railroad car by transslidably mounted within said casing provided with a spring actuated block, a rod extending through said block and the sides of the casing, and plates secured to the sides of the draw bar strap provided with slots to receive said shaft;

JOSEPH M. DUTELLE. lvitnesses G. B. LEFRANCOIS, Anrironsn LEGLERC. 

